[Lakelands] Six For Adventure

[Samuel Leming]

Maldordo chuckles as he listens to Norbert's plan, but sobers as the implications start to filter through his thoughts.

"Yes, Norbert, that is a clever plan, but there's a couple of points these local hunters will have to consider."

"First, this manticore is the overly proud owner of a true hunter's nose. If it approaches from downwind it'll know there's more than one man. When it sees only one man, especially one playing dead, and senses others it'll know a trap has been set. Hmmm. Given the manticore's canny hunting behavior we've seen so far, it may even circle its prey like a scavenger before coming in. The miller and his compatriots will need to consider this."

"Second, the manticore isn't a mere hunting beast like the cats you've known. I suspect that it craves tormenting its prey as much as it craves flesh. If it sees a trap it's very likely to turn away and go after the villager's unprotected families! It would be able to teach its hunters a lesson, sow terror, and have a feast all in one act."

"Wait. Wait. This may be just the trap my fellows and I are looking for. If all the families of the villagers out hunting the manticore gather at one place... Like the church, the miller's cottage or even this mill we could guard them and wait. The manticore is wary of traps and hunters right now, but if it thinks it's already avoided those problems it may lose its caution. When the manticore bypasses the hunters and comes after their families, we'll have it! I suppose it could go after their livestock instead, but that wouldn't satisfy this monster's malice. Yes, I think a plan could be built around this."

OOC: Two hundredth post! Yay!

 

[Raven Crowking]

Maldordo chuckles as he listens to Norbert's plan, but sobers as the implications start to filter through his thoughts.

"Yes, Norbert, that is a clever plan, but there's a couple of points these local hunters will have to consider."

...

"Wait. Wait. This may be just the trap my fellows and I are looking for. If all the families of the villagers out hunting the manticore gather at one place... Like the church, the miller's cottage or even this mill we could guard them and wait. The manticore is wary of traps and hunters right now, but if it thinks it's already avoided those problems it may lose its caution. When the manticore bypasses the hunters and comes after their families, we'll have it! I suppose it could go after their livestock instead, but that wouldn't satisfy this monster's malice. Yes, I think a plan could be built around this."

Norbert snorted with derision. "Until last night, the thing never touched human hide nor human hair. I'd have heard had one of the villagers been eaten, I can assure you of that!"

"That's right!" said the other rat, Beatrix. "We'd a known had anyone hereabouts been eaten by the big cat!" She said the word, cat, as though it were a curse. "No offense meant," she added quickly.

"In any event," Norbert went on sulkily, "if he wanted the advice of a warrior, he should have asked a warrior. When you ask an empty mill, who do you expect to answer, if not the rats?"

 

[Samuel Leming]

Maldordo will continue his rat chat until the miller comes back or something else happens.

OOC: Yeah, I could ask the rats more questions, but nobody else has played in six days.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Amalric and Brother Elidor returned as the group was packing. The orphaned boy, Eoth, had been safely delivered to his new home. Brother Elidor had to hurry to catch up, so that his scant goods were packed and ready when the others were to depart.

The group of adventurers bid Amalric good-bye, and, with the three lay brethren assigned to guide them and watch their animals, the group of adventurers began to move off northward through the village, toward Selby-by-the-Water. Amalric had wished them good luck. The once-dishevelled priest had become quite emotional, telling them he would not fail to ensure that the village knew that they were gone. And he had brought them something for their lunch: pastries filled with salt pork, onions, and potatoes.

He beamed proudly, "I have made these myself, with the last of my winter provender."

As they went over the small stone bridge that spanned the millstream, and passed beneath the baleful mill, they could see that some of the villagers had already begun gathering there. It was near enough noon, no doubt, but the sun was hidden behind the clouds. The overcast sky from the night before was returned, heavy now with the promise of a storm to come.

 

[wolfheart]

As Dain rolls by the villagers in his cart, he shakes his head with pity for their plight. "May the seven have mercy on this village, and may the villagers see the error of their ways."

He shifts around in his seat and comments about how he is looking forward to sleeping in his own cot this night back in Selby-by-the-Water.

 

[Toric_Arthendain]

As the group rides past the villagers, Selanil makes a point of not looking at them, keeping his gaze fixed on the road ahead. He remains quiet as well, until out of the village and the earshot of the villagers. He drops to the back of the group and continuously scans their back trail, making sure they aren't being followed.

 

[maddmic]

Kregor follows suit and keeps his eyes straight ahead as they ride of of the village.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Horsom thanked Amalric with a warm grin. "These pasties smell delicious. Be sure to let Maldordo how to get to the small hollow we'll be camped in."

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As the companions pass the gathering villagers by, he calls out to a particularly sour looking elder: "Good luck to you!" He later chuckled to himself at Dain's comments. "What a ham!" he thought.

As the group made its way out of the village, Horsom nodded approvingly at Selanil's woodcraft. Though he had grown up near the forest, Horsom had only ever shown a small interest in learning the lore of the wilds, but he could appreciate the skills of men like Fellan and Selanil. Though he couldn't tell a poisonous Runyon Cap from the delicious Marabell mushroom, he knew that he could compete with the elf when it came to creeping silently through the bush. Years of hunting small game had taught him that much. "If someone suspicious leaves the village, Selanil and I could follow him at a distance."

 

[Raven Crowking]

As the group rides past the villagers, Selanil makes a point of not looking at them, keeping his gaze fixed on the road ahead. He remains quiet as well, until out of the village and the earshot of the villagers. He drops to the back of the group and continuously scans their back trail, making sure they aren't being followed.

As the group left, it was mostly children who followed them. Children being fickle, they were ready to jeer (from a safe distance) as the wagon and horses went by. The adults were different. Although certainly not all of the adults had come to beg the group to stay, most of those who had come running when they heard of the group's departure had done so for just that purpose. "Don't leave us!" an old woman cried. A tall man and his wife stood by with a stunned child and watched them go grimly. Brother Elidor turned his head away, for the boy was Eoth, whose parents had been killed by the manticore, and the others were Broadhain Tallstone and his wife, Eoma.

The lay brother flinched as Horsom singled Broadhain out for a jaunty "Good luck to you!" The tall man frowned and spit upon the ground. They could hear him mutter a curse beneath his breath, though not what he said. Brother Elidor flinched, but said nothing. That comment, and that reaction, both rang with the truth of the situation. The adventurers seemed bitter, and those that they should have best protected had made it known that they believed the ruse. Who then could doubt that the group had left for good?

Meanwhile, at the mill, Salwerk Miller's cronies had arrived, and the man began to reveal his plan as though it had come from the gods themselves. "For surely," he said, "as I prayed, a voice came to me, and told me what to do." What followed was, very much, Norbert's plan. Salwerk intended to tie the harpoon by rope to a tree, harpoon the manticore, and give archers hiding nearby a chance to shoot it. He seemed to recognize the dangers that Norbert did not, for he expected the archers to hide in nearby cottages. Of course, he would likely die doing this.

It was about then that word came of the group's departure. The miller's face grew sour. Who knows? Perhaps without the threat of his own death that the group provided, he would have had the victim determined by lots. Or perhaps he had hoped -- despite his vocal remonstrations the other way -- that he would be spared the need to do what he proposed. In any event, he shook it off, and prepared to do what he had to. One thing he sought was whatever makeshift armor the village could provide. For the miller's hevy frame, they had nothing better than leather. Some thought a few metal plates might be sewn onto this.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

The catcalls of the children and the stricken looks from their elders left Horsom wincing inwardly. He steeled himself by recalling that this charade was necessary to lull the manticore into a mistake.

Brother Elidor was obviously responding equally poorly to the villagers' disappointment. "Cheer up, Elidor. The villagers will thank us once we bring down the manticore. Sure, some will only remember that we abandoned them in their hour of need, but we can rest easy knowing that we act for the greater good."